The idea of time travel has fascinated me since as far back as I can remember. Watching Superman reverse the direction of the Earth in a silly interpretation of going back in time; Marty McFly visiting the past and future in a Delorean; H.G. Wells classic The Time Machine; and Sam leaping from person to person in Quantum leap are just some of the things that hooked me in my youth.

Writing A COURSE FOR HUMANITY and its spinoff THE LOST HOUR was a lot of fun for me, but it took a long time to get right. Time travel logic is difficult to maintain, but is manageable with some thought and research. Pictured here is the U.S.S. Eldrige. It is said that the government managed to send it back in time ten seconds on October 28th 1943. This was dubbed the “Philadelphia Experiment,” although no one actually knows if the program ever even existed. What do you think? There are plenty of photos and historical things that could point to time travel being possible. Do you think it’s a possibility and if so where would you go and when?

Order a copy of my novel or short for yourself or a friend. If you want personalized copies then shoot me an email (Rickpipito@hotmail.com), otherwise they can be purchased in print or digital at Lulu.com or on Amazon

sCrypt Publishing and readers have asked a few questions about my new short story THE LOST HOUR. Here’s a compilation of those questions in an interview like form. Enjoy and feel free to ask your own in the comments section. I’ll answer as quickly as possible.

Q: This is your first short story that doesn’t involve multiple different plots. What made you take this approach?

Rick: I’ve done nine shorts before this. They all had multiple stories because they were intended (and some were) for graphic novel form. The novel that this was based on, A COURSE FOR HUMANITY, was less about separate stories intertwining, and more about one narrative. I figured I could focus on one plot and make it more powerful by doing the same to the short.

Q: You mention the novel from which this was set. Where exactly does THE LOST HOUR take place in the series?

Rick: Chronologically it exists between DEVOURED UNIVERSE and A COURSE FOR HUMANITY. It fills in something referenced in the latter novel. It is meant to be read alone though, so it works if you are completely unfamiliar with the series.

Q: Why continue to do short story spinoffs between novel releases? Are there plans to bring back more graphic novel forms?

Rick: I never say never, but right now there are no plans for more comics. The reason I continue with the short stories is because they are cheaper for readers. It seems to be that once a newcomer reads the short story, they are usually interested in the novel it’s associated with. I’ve gained quite a few readers that way.

Q: Samantha Clayton is your main character in THE LOST HOUR. What made you choose her?

Rick: We’ve sort of seen her grow throughout the novels. She was a young girl, then an adult, and then an old woman. We know there’s a lot of secrecy to her that remains to be uncovered. There is only reference to her in the novel and how she laid the ground work for the Continuum organization. She made rules for them to follow with time travel, so I wanted to get into why she made those rules. Something had to have gone wrong for her to do so.

Q: What is it like writing about time travel?

Rick: It’s different than all my other books. I love and hate it. This trilogy gives me a headache, even though that’s not the focus. I have to make it believable and understandable to the reader at the same time. Sometimes I’ll write a scene and then have to edit the hell out of it because it gets so wordy that it bores me. After numerous edits it comes out being an easy and comprehendible read, but getting to that point is the challenge.

Q: What is your next release and when?

Rick: THE THIRST OF CAIN will be my next novel in early 2018. It’s not only a direct follow up to A COURSE FOR HUMANITY, but will serve as the same to BLOOD, THE SECOND HELPING.

Q: So vampires and time travel then?

Rick: Yes. I had such good feedback on BLOOD, that I felt like revisiting some of that. Plus I had this thing going on with the character of Francis Murphy in COURSE that the plot sort of set itself.

Q: Are you saying Francis will meet Cain?

Rick: Cain is such a loved character by fans. He’s the penultimate villain. He’s wicked, but also has a reason for the path he’s chosen. Time travel enables me to really go back to his early years and have Francis confront him then. He wants to be cured of his own curse, so finding Cain is his main priority.

Q: I’m confused. Won’t that technically interfere with the plots of the remaining books because time travel is involved?

Rick: Oh yes. I can’t say much, but THE THIRST OF CAIN will alter everything. We will sort of see a different history as an outcome. It’s something touched upon in THE LOST HOUR about how time travel can create alternate worlds.

Q: Where can one purchase a copy of THE LOST HOUR?

Rick: It is available on www.lulu.com in print. It will be available as part of the next trilogy release for Amazon and Barnes and Noble when that is completed. And if you buy the print from lulu you also get a digital copy to download.

In the future, time travel is a tool used for learning. There are strict guidelines that the Continuum organization enforces to make sure that no one can tamper with what is already written. Those rules were put in place for a reason. Samantha Clayton wrote those rules, but what experiences did she have to understand the true consequences of diving into the past?

Follow Clayton in events that take place during one hour of her time. It will be an hour that she will never forget, and that history will never remember. To every cause there is an effect, no matter how big or small. This short story bridges the gap between the novels DEVOURED UNIVERSE and A COURSE FOR HUMANITY.